Journey to healing: Director Lois Lipman tells the other side of Trinity Site test with 'First We Bombed New Mexico'

Seven years.

This is the amount of time filmmaker Lois Lipman has worked with hours of material regarding the Trinity Site test.

It’s a story more than 70 years in the making, and Lipman will present the documentary, “First We Bombed New Mexico,” at the Santa Fe International Film Festival.

The world premiere will take place at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, at CCA Cinematheque. It will have another screening at 2:15 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22, at the same venue.

“I fell in love with New Mexico and I was attracted by the richness,” Lipman says. “I had a whole career in London and I worked in documentaries. When I moved to New Mexico, I discovered the story of the Downwinders, the people living close to the Trinity Site, who now have multigenerational cancers. I knew I had to create a film that tells this tragic story.”

“First We Bombed New Mexico,” follows a formidable Hispanic cancer survivor, Tina Cordova, banging on the corridors of power to fight for compensation and an apology for Native and Hispanic communities in New Mexico whose land and water was radiated by the Trinity Bomb.

The film follows Cordova, who has catalyzed a movement for justice.

Journey to healing: Director Lois Lipman tells the other side of Trinity Site test with 'First We Bombed New Mexico'

At this moment Congress is hashing out whether to extend Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) compensation to New Mexico Downwinders as it decides on details in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

“It’s the story ‘Oppenheimer’ doesn’t tell,” Lipman says. “I’m glad it’s coming out after the film, which has had a lot of success this summer.”

Lipman is also elated for the film having its world premiere on Saturday, Oct. 21, because that’s when the Trinity Site opens up again to the public.

“It’s newsworthy that our film premieres the day before thousands of tourists flock to White Sands to witness the location of that blast,” Lipman says. “They are expecting many times more tourists than usual because of the popularity of ‘Oppenheimer.’ Networks have already said they will fly to New Mexico from New York City to report on this story. At the same time tourists flock to the site, on the side of the dusty road will be the Downwinders with placards trying to tell the tourists that there is another narrative to this story that is not told inside those secure, locked gates.”

Lipman says she wanted to premiere the documentary in Santa Fe because it’s a film about New Mexicans and their resilience.

The film will also screen at the Austin Film Festival and then will travel to St. Louis and other film festivals throughout the remainder of the year.

The documentary became a passion project for Lipman.

She used nearly a decade to raise money for the film.

“Although it was excruciating at the beginning, trying to get support, now this year things have very much shifted, we’ve gotten grants and the support of this community, grantors are even stepping forward,” Lipman says. “People like Elias Gallegos are introducing Tina and me to local leadership – saying ‘it takes a village.’ This film strikes home and is personal for Elias because of the rare tumor that killed his mother.”

Lipman says George R.R. Martin’s wife, Paris McBride, is helping to host the reception for the film.

And locally, people are stepping up to help spread the word, she says.

“Bill Banowsky of Violet Crown has been generous — both he and Paul Barnes at the CCA played our teaser before the screening of ‘Oppenheimer’; for weeks, just to let people know about this documentary, even though it wasn’t even finished and had no plan yet to be screened in a theater,” Lipman says. “Folks have been generous and enthusiastic, especially now that we have a cut that we can show. The film has turned a corner and is feeling like it’s the little engine that could.”